Finding Treasures and An Interesting Character

 We drove to Blind Pass Beach today just to try out a different beach. We are staying on Siesta Key Beach which is absolutely beautiful but we just wanted a change of scenery for a few hours. We had read that this beach has lots of shells and shark teeth. I thought it would be fun to bring some back for the grandkids.       When we got there we noticed a fella sitting on a sand "couch" he had made. Alongside it were little tables covered in shark teeth and sifting containers. We stopped to talk to him about the large number of teeth he had. 

      He said he had found them all today. He told us most people don't know how to look for shark teeth. (We had tried last year at a different beach using a sieve to scoop stuff off the bottom while standing almost up to our knees in the ocean water. with little success. This is what we saw others doing.) This fella said the teeth are under layers of broken shells and things on the shore. He takes a shovel and digs down, then scoops up a bunch of the sediment and sifts through it.

     He introduced himself as Budde (with an "e" he said) and proceeded to explain how to tell if a tooth is "new" and showed us one. Budde also showed us a tooth he found that was about two inches long. He actually found that one sticking out of the sand on the beach.

     Since he looked to be past retirement age we asked about his background. That got him to ask about ours and where we were from. Turns out he has been to MN and knew where our hometown is. He used to live in Chicago but now is living full time in FL finding shark teeth. 

 

Shark teeth found at Blind Pass Beach, FL

 I asked him if he sells the teeth and he said no, he usually gives them away to kids and families. When he found out I used to teach and had grandkids he gave me a whole handful of shark teeth to take back. I even found one "new" one in the bunch.

     What a treasure it is to find such an interesting and generous character! I would love to be someone that interesting someday. Right now I'm feeling pretty ordinary.